The Man Behind the Image
by NinjaSun00
Summary: Boruto doesn't know what to think. He knew his father was powerful, knew his father was a war-hero. He didn't know how close his father came to being a monster. As Boruto watches Pain assault Konoha, he learns more about his parents then he ever knew.


**A/N** I do not own Naruto, or Boruto. This is a one-off fanfiction. I just couldn't help wondering what Boruto would think of his father, especially if he saw Pain's assault on Konoha.

Boruto couldn't move. It had all started so innocently. He and his friends were eating at their favorite restaurant when they notice a new shop across the way.

Since they hadn't seen any signs of construction, they decided to check it out. Inside was the strangest…shopkeeper. He said his name was Shijin, and that his store was really an ancient artifact bards used to write their stories. Some sort of chakra detector, except it was able to interpret miniscule ripples of chakra in order to recreate past events. It all sounded really strange to Boruto, but when the opportunity to watch their parents' past arose, he couldn't resist.

He still remembered Sasuke-sensei's strange words from before.

 _What you really out to know is not who Naruto is 'now'._

He thought seeing his father's past might explain what his sensei was talking about. What he found was…

Not what he expected. It's not that his parents really tried hiding anything. Mom had told him about Dad's prankster days. And mentioned that Grandpa used to be really, really strict. Heck, he even knew, vaguely, that Dad had the Kyubi sealed inside him. That wasn't really a secret, or at least it wasn't a secret now.

Somehow he still wasn't prepared. Dad was…stupid. And uncool. And somehow, despite it all, kind of awesome. He'd alternated between feeling embarrassed, protective and amazed. He wished he could have punched Mizuki-sensei in the mouth. Then again, he didn't really need to. Dad took care of it himself. _Stu-_

Dammit. Calling his Dad a 'stupid old man' didn't seem right any more. Not when 'stupid' had been used to describe him almost his entire life.

They all were kind of shocked at how little their parents knew, especially as graduates of the academy. And genin. They didn't know how to climb trees before graduating? They didn't know how to walk on water? What the hell?

And then Orochimaru appeared, and things got weird. Chocho let slip that she'd actually met the guy. An S-rank criminal! And she met him!

That's when Chocho and Sarada had some sort of argument, what about he wasn't clear. Then Sarada had some words with Shijin. Boruto wasn't sure what she was worried about, but in the end they wound up watching what happened when Sarada decided to bring that lunch to Dad for him. Boruto guessed she really wanted to see her own father? Orochimaru was… _interesting_ …but Boruto was still kind of in shock about the fight just before.

Dad had been impaled with a sword! And then pulled it out like it was _nothing_!

He hadn't even known his father had been stabbed! And when he asked Sarada why she hadn't mentioned it, she just gave him a funny look and told him it hadn't been important. (When Dad pulled the sword out and waved off any sort of healing, he kind of got why.)

As Sarada asked – _Who are these people?!_

After that, watching the younger version of Team 7 was…odd. They were barely showing their true potential. Boruto supposed it should give him hope, after all if _they_ could become badass he could too.

And then things got really bad. His sensei had really tried killing his father. (Mitsuki commented that Lord Seventh made the same choice Boruto had made…which yet again made Boruto feel odd. It really was too similar to what happened with the Class Rep. Except more so.)

And he hadn't known, at all, that Sasuke-sensei had seen his entire clan murdered. Sarada had been horrified. She spent most of the time whispering "Papa, no!" as her father turned into a cold and distant avenger.

Plus there was the Akatsuki, an entire organization of S-rank criminals that was targeting the Tailed Beasts. Targeting his Dad.

Which somewhat explained his current sense of horror. Pain was attacking Konoha. Again, Boruto had a sense of history. He vaguely knew that the village had been attacked just before the Fourth Shinobi World War. That was why so many of the buildings were new.

He just…hadn't been aware of how _personal_ the attack was. Over, and over, and over again the little corpse puppets were asking villagers – "Where is Naruto Uzumaki?" "Naruto Uzumaki, is he here or not?"

All that destruction, all that pain, and it was all to find…Dad. Boruto watched with a growing sense of horror…and horrified awe…as villager after villager refused to give up his father. _Even Ebisu-san, that stick-in-the-mud._

 _Maybe Dad isn't so crazy, claiming that the entire village is his family. It's not just about him protecting the village…the village is protecting him._

Which was definitely a weird thought. That Dad needed protection in the first place, much less that the village was capable of giving it.

Boruto thought he had never been more horrified…until the lead Pain levitated up into the air and just…

Just…

 _Devastated_ Konoha. Turned it into a giant crater. All the previous damage was _nothing_ compared to what Konoha looked like after that.

And then Dad arrived. Finally. Looking badass with his new Sage Mode. He was kicking Pain's butt, too. Which was amazing considering what Pain had done to Konoha.

And then… _this_.

Now Dad was pinned down with a number of rods. Rods that went _through_ him. Boruto's stomach felt tight and his throat clogged up as his sense of horror came back. Dad looked like one of a bug pinned to a board. And then the story shifted to Mom. Watching her memories was bad enough, for so many tangled reasons. That Mom had been bullied, that she had been timid. That Dad had tried saving her. And lost. That Mom was forbidden from being around Dad…which still made Boruto feel strange. He's the Seventh Hokage, and everyone treated him like crap…how the hell did he come to love the village so much in the first place?

And then Mom made her move. She tried attacking Pain. _Mom_. Who had no chance in hell of defeating him.

He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Mom was so overmatched it was…awful. The fight was so one-sided. Boruto watched as Dad tried telling Mom to go away, feeling strange that yet again he agreed with Dad. Saw Mom rise into the air in a twisted parody of grace, and then slam into the ground.

And Dad went nuts.

Dad utterly, totally, and completely lost it. Boruto didn't think he could feel any more horrified. He was wrong. His eyes grew wide as Dad started turning into the Nine-Tails. _Dad was shooting_ _ **fireballs**_ _!_

Dad was a _monster_. Somebody whimpered. Someone else whispered "I never, _EVER_ want to see Lord Seventh angry!"

Boruto could barely nod, as he watched the Nine-Tails – Dad – chase after the last Pain corpse-puppet. And get caught in yet another over-powered jutsu. _That thing is a small moon! I didn't know that was even possible!_

And then…and then…

And then they were in that weird space where Dad talks to the Nine-Tails. He didn't know how this chakra artifact recorded these things. It seemed almost…invasive. Yet the things revealed were too important for him to really protest. He had never realized that Dad held actual conversations with the Tailed Beast before.

He had never seen his Dad so…lost before.

He watched, frozen, as the scene continued to play:

 _"How did this happen? Why?" Naruto asked himself._

 _"It hurts…I hate this…I don't know…!"_

 _"I don't know! What should I do!? I don't know anymore!"_

 _"Somebody help me! Give me the answer!"_

" _ **DESTROY EVERYTHING. DESTROY EVERYTHING THAT HURTS YOU. GIVE YOUR HEART TO ME. I WILL SAVE YOU FROM THE PAIN."**_

Boruto wanted to shout, to tell his Dad not to listen to the damn Nine-Tails. But he couldn't move. Someone else moaned "No…don't."

And then a miracle occurred. _Grandpa?! What's Lord Fourth doing there? How?!_

"Wait. Lord Seventh didn't know that was his father? This is how he learned he was Lord Fourth's son?" Sarada asked in quiet disbelief.

And then Dad punched Lord Fourth in the stomach.

"And I thought Boruto had daddy issues" Shikadai whispered.

Boruto had never seen his father be such a mess before. It was…disturbing. Dad was the Hokage. A war hero. He was larger than life. A pillar of strength.

" _Everyone expects too much. I'm not that smart. I'm not even that good of a ninja."_

Did Dad…really feel that way?

Dad was the strongest ninja in the world. Or second strongest. Boruto still thought Sasuke-sensei might be stronger, even if his teacher did go through some sort of psychotic stage. How could his father question whether he was a good ninja? If Dad could feel that way…Dad – the Seventh Hokage…what did that mean for the rest of us?


End file.
